Do You Juggle Books?
Newsletter for 7.27.25
A while back I was surprised to see someone post online that they were reading 3 different books at the same time. I was dismayed at the time (such simpler times those were) that such a thing was possible. I was an average reader back then (maybe a dozen books a year give or take-whereas I know some people to put away one a week or more), and found it fascinating that anyone could read more than one book at a time, not to mention three or four.
Fast forward to right now where I'm literally juggling six (very big) books all at once shifting from one to another depending on the day and what I'm focused on. A few weeks ago I shared with you guys what was on my To Be Read list (mostly graphic novels and comics). Today I'm going to share with you guys what I've been reading for several weeks now and the slow and steady progress I've made (and why). But first...NEW COMICS!
The After Death
Happy to share the next page of The After Death. This page and next week's page will be low on dialogue, high on artwork as we take a moment to literally say goodbye to New Orleans with a few parting shots of quiet scenes of the city I've been drawing for the past five years.
I’m including the full page spread below as a few panels were omitted above. The full page gives more of the panoramic view.
Upcoming Kickstarter
We're just five days away from the launch of The After Death Book Three Kickstarter! I'm always nervous before a launch and typically nervous throughout unless it gets funded early-which hasn't ever happened before-but you never know! You'd be doing me a huge favor by heading to the pre-launch page and signing up to get notified once the book launches. The more pledges I get on day one, the better it is for Kickstarter's algorithm and the potential for it to reach new people. Thank you! Looking forward to launch day!
All the books I'm reading right now
The real reason I'm telling you about the books I'm in the process of reading is to give you guys insight into what projects are on the horizon in the next few months/years(?). These books will help inform the writing behind, and the world-building built into fleshing out my next few stories.
First up are all the books I'm reading (and listening to) in prep for an adaptation of Mark Twain's novella The Mysterious Stranger. The Mysterious Stranger is a bucket list project for me and one I had wanted to start writing this year. But after a few email exchanges with a handful of Mark Twain Scholars I got the feeling I needed to do a little more reconnaissance on my end. The Mysterious Stranger has a questionable (dubious? infamous?) reputation because of how it was first published. One scholar I emailed didn't even consider it a proper Mark Twain book. After that brief exchange I thought I'd pull back the reigns on this project to give myself adequate time to delve more into Mark Twain's life and writings so I could actually adapt this story in a way that would live up to Twain's legacy. As a result these are the books I'm slowly parsing through:
The Mysterious Stranger Manuscripts, edited by Williams M. Gibson. First published in 1969, this was the first time all of the attempted manuscripts of The Mysterious Stranger were collected and published in their entirety-unedited-complete with Twain's notes and other commentary throughout.
Centenary Reflections on Mark Twain's No. 44, The Mysterious Stranger. This is a collection of essays by Twain scholars who are examining and making commentary on the aforementioned manuscripts giving context and examining Twain's meaning and intention behind the book's several themes. This book was recommended by a Twain scholar I had emailed. It was published in 2011 and looks at the text through a more modern lens.
Mark Twain, a biography by Ron Chernow. I'm listening to the audio book of this and am endlessly fascinated not only by his life but also-by proxy-how people lived day to day in the late 1800's.
Next up are the books I'm reading as I prepare for Spencer and Reggie to enter New Mexico. Since Native Americans play such a huge role in the makeup and the culture of the region I'm exploring some of their lore and folktales hoping I can integrate them into The After Death somehow, as well as reading up on all the spooky stories found in the region.
Mysteries and Miracles of New Mexico, Jack Kutz. This is the first book, I believe Kutz came out with a second volume titled More Mysteries and Miracles...etc. This is giving some fuel and inspiration when it comes to what The After Death may have in store for Spencer and Reggie once they reach New Mexico.
American Indian Myths and Legends, selected and edited by Richard Erdoes and Alfonso Ortiz. This book is a tough one as it presents American Indian folk tales one by one according to region or sometimes tribe. The stories can vary wildly from region to region making it difficult for someone like me who is outside of the culture to pin down anything definitive. Maybe that's normal? But I feel like I'll need to have a few conversations with actual American Indians to get more of a sense of these stories and how they're perceived by the culture.
Last but not least, I picked this book up on my last visit to Louisiana. It's an unabridged and unedited collection of folk tales, stories, myths, and legends that really color the history of south Louisiana and New Orleans. It's straightforward, often written in Cajun and black dialect, and pulls no punches in sharing what real life was like in south Louisiana before the 1930's. I picked this up just for fun, but am enjoying a lot of the spooky vibes it gives and hoping to weave some of that into the Eerie comics.
Finally, just how am I reading all of these books at once? Well, it's not like I'm picking them up and reading them all the way through. I'm picking them up, here and there, from time to time, and dipping my toes into them a little at a time-a chapter at a time. They're always on rotation except for the biography of Mark Twain which I'm listening to all the way through (as it's the one book that has a linear narrative). All of these books have a format of stand-alone chapters, sections, essays or vignettes making it easy to read them little by little, like eating chicken nuggets one by one over time.
So these are the books that are always within arms reach when I'm at home. Not to mention any comics or graphic novels that I'm reading for fun on top of this stack!
What's Making Me Happy This Week?
Rhea and I went to a book pre-launch party this weekend out in McKinney, TX, about an hour's drive (if there's no traffic) from where I live in Fort Worth. We went to support Heather Karlsson-artist and doodler extraordinaire-who's been illustrating the cutest scenes with her two characters, Norman and Shark, over the past few years or so. Norman is a hedgehog and Shark is...a shark. Well, she's coming out with a book sharing the origin story of how Norman and Shark met and-through McKinney Art Gallery where you can find her artwork-threw a book pre-launch party to drum up support, promote the book, and give a chance for people to see some of the books 80 (!) illustrations. It's always a good time showing up for and supporting local creators, and we had a good time. McKinney's town square is charming as well! We'll have to return and sample more of what the square has to offer. Find out more about Norman and Shark here. And you can pre-order the book here.
Aight-that's it for me this week! Hope you guys are doing well and I hope you have great week next week!
~b
If you enjoyed this newsletter and are wanting more, I’ve got you covered! You can become a member of my Patreon-where I share additional stuff all week long. You can buy something from my Etsy shop. Leave me a tip, or you can subscribe to this very newsletter below!